A budget esports mouse delivered by gaming brand XPG, we take a look at the lightweight XPG Slingshot gaming mouse, alongside the XPG Battleground L Mousepad.
First Impressions
My initial thoughts on the XPG Slingshot were that it looked like a solid esports mouse, with the scattered triangle holes giving it a lightweight and professional look. The mouse is pretty standard in terms of size and look, obviously other than the triangular air vents, so I wasn’t expecting anything crazy regarding the feel of it in my hand.
The Battleground L Mousepad had a good size to it based off my first thoughts, with a decent amount of grip on the underside of the pad. The top of the mousepad is a microfiber material for a smoother gliding gaming surface, which is very nice to move across with my mouse.
Design
The triangular vents are the main design feature that stands out on the Slingshot, however, that isn’t the only piece of esports-style tech. The mouse is equipped with two long glossy buttons on the left side of the mouse, along with a simple and small round button for changing between DPI setups positioned just behind the tyre-like rubber cladded scroll wheel that has a RGB glow underneath it.
There is also an RGB glow under the centre of the body, which works splendidly with the RGB underneath the scroll wheel. These lights contrast the full black mouse nicely, with streams of colour seeping through the triangular vents.
The Slingshot is built with a fully plastic body, which doesn’t feel amazing in hand, however, it does the job. You can tell that XPG wanted to focus on shaving weight with the Slingshot, along with creating a cheaper mouse that won’t exactly be used by professionals, however, is a great introduction to an esports-style mouse for only around £30.
The shape of the mouse really isn’t anything special, with little innovative design to comfort your hand, mainly having the same shape as a basic gaming mouse. This has its pros, as it is a mouse that you can easily move onto with little need to get used to it, however, it would’ve been nice to see a little bit more ingenuity with regards to the shape.
As for the L Battleground Mousepad, the design is relatively simple with a full black backdrop and orangey red accents around the edges, apart from the XPG mascot print, ‘Mera’, who is posing in a red and black spacesuit on the right side of the mousepad.
Performance
The XPG Slingshot features a PixArt PMW 3360 sensor, which can track at up to 12,000 dpi and keeps up the accuracy until just over 250 inches per second (ips). That accuracy, in comparison to the 450ips which is the going rate for most premium gaming mice, is relatively low. However, all these stats and numbers you can only really notice if you’re either a complete gaming pro or you are pushing the Slingshot to its absolute maximum, which for most games won’t happen.
If I base it purely on what I felt when using the mouse, the performance was decent at best, with the main feeling being that it was a standard kind of mouse, but more lightweight and with a few buttons whacked around the body. If you went from no esports mouse at all to the XPG Slingshot, then you would tell the difference, however, it wouldn’t exactly blow you away.
The lightweight build did very much help with the performance, with the ability to flick the mouse around with ease being prevalent. My flicks in Valorant improved when using the XPG Slingshot, with the overall speed of my gameplay most definitely increasing. This comes at the consequence of a slight drop in smoothness when gliding across a mousepad, although this wasn’t massively noticeable.
The Battleground L Mousepad performed very well for me, with very little need to adjust it as the grip held it down tremendously. The large dimension of 420x335mm is ideal for all games, including the need for high precision, low-dpi settings like most FPS games, which pairs nicely alongside the Slingshot mouse that is best suited for FPS in my opinion.
Conclusion
To summarize on the XPG Slingshot gaming mouse, there’s no doubt that for around £30, you are getting a solid option for an esports gaming mouse for a budget price. The Slingshot is quick and nimble, so thrives in games that require quick flicks like Valorant, although this lightness of body does leave room for some flimsiness.
My recommendation would be that if you are someone who wants to get into esports gaming or just simply want to have a more advanced mouse as opposed to a standard day-to-day mouse, the XPG Slingshot for the relatively low price of £30 is a very strong option, however, I would think about upgrading to something like the Razer Basilisk which is around £50 on the Whatgadget Store once you can afford it.
Regarding the Battleground L, it is a very solid mousepad that sticks to the desk well and has a lovely smooth surface that lets you effortlessly glide across the mousepad. Like the Slingshot, the Battleground L exceeds FPS games as the surface gives a slick feel that lets you glide quickly, helping you with quick mouse flicks and movements.
Overall, I would definitely recommend this to any gamer, but keep in mind there is no wrist support whatsoever, so if that’s a requirement for you then the Battleground L isn’t your choice. If what you want is a pure mousepad that does the job nicely, then go for the Battleground L, especially if you mainly play FPS games.
Product Rating- XPG Slingshot Mouse
Design: 3.5 out of 5.0 stars
Performance: 4.0 out of 5.0 stars
Value for Money: 4.0 out of 5.0 stars
Overall Rating: 4.0 out of 5.0 stars – 4.0 Stars
Product Rating- XPG Battleground L Mousepad
Overall Rating: 4.0 out of 5.0 stars – 4.0 Stars
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